Moda in Luce 1925–1955. Alle origini del Made in Italy at Palazzo Pitti

At the Fashion and Costume Gallery, a visual and historical narrative exploring the deep roots of Made in Italy through clothes, accessories, photographs and films

From June 18 to September 28, the sumptuous halls of the Fashion and Costume Museum at Palazzo Pitti in Florence are hosting the exhibition Fashion in Light 1925-1955. At the Origins of Made in Italy. An exhibition promoted by the Ministry of Culture, organized by Archivio Luce Cinecittà in collaboration with the Uffizi Galleries, which recounts thirty crucial years in the formation of the identity of Italian fashion, before its consecration on the international scene.

Curated by Fabiana Giacomotti, Moda in Luce is a visual and historical tale that, through more than fifty dresses, accessories, photographs and films, explores the deep roots of Made in Italy. The exhibition reconstructs the period between 1925 and 1955, revealing a panorama rich in innovation, creativity and craftsmanship skills leading up to the famous 1952 fashion show in the Sala Bianca of Palazzo Pitti.

Una giovane commessa sistema una vestaglia su un manichino durante una gara, 1941 (Fondo Amoroso / Archivio Luce Cinecittà)

At the center of the exhibition is the exceptional heritage of the Archivio Luce, with films, newsreels and photographic materials-many of them previously unpublished-that document the evolution of the Italian textile industry and the growing influence of fashion on the cultural and economic level.

On display are works by now defunct maisons such as Ventura, Radice, Gandini, Montorsi, Villa, Palmer, Biki, and Carosa, alongside legendary signatures such as Maria Monaci Gallenga, Fortuny, and Simonetta Visconti. Creations by Emilio Pucci, Gucci (with a 1929 evening bag never exhibited before) and Salvatore Ferragamo, with the famous 1947 "invisible" sandal, also stand out.

Not only fashion: also on display are fabric catalogs, historical documents, “certificates of Italian-ness,” rare books and audiovisual contributions signed by directors such as Michelangelo Antonioni (Sette canne per un vestito, 1948), Romolo Marcellini and Roman Vlad.

FRANCO BERTOLI, MILANO Milano 1910 - 1960 GONNA FEMMINILE 1955 circa (Collezione Massimo Cantini Parrini, Firenze)

Director of the Uffizi Galleries Simone Verde says, “This exhibition allows, through a highly selected florilegium of photographs and videos, not only to reconstruct an important moment in fashion history, but also to place clothes in a context that brings them to life because the support of 'newsreels' and the image as a documentary medium contributes like nothing else to understanding the social function of clothing beyond its aesthetic appearance.”

"The genesis of Italian fashion reflects the history of the country. It is a narrative with several voices and between different centers: Venice, where the first collective fashion show of Italian and French fashion was held in 1926, almost simultaneously with Milan, and then Turin, where the Ente Nazionale della Moda was born in 1935. This exhibition, which presents for the first time a reasoned selection of the Istituto Luce's immense film, photographic and documentary heritage, some of which has never been seen before, as well as fifty garments and accessories from legendary and largely disappeared fashion houses, aims to recount the evolution of Italian style during the thirty years in which its critical and historical consciousness was formed, its pride of belonging was consolidated, and its textile industry and supply chain were wise and built, according to a model that has remained unique in the world." Fabiana Giacomotti, curator of the exhibition, affirms.